Hope everyone had a fun and not too spooky Halloween. We are just DAYS away from Election Day! Here’s a snapshot of some key headlines from this past week (October 27, 2024 – November 2, 2024).
ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5!
Have you voted? If you haven’t voted yet, what is your voting plan?
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Please let us know in the super quick Voting Assistance Officer feedback survey what your experience was this voting season with this resource.
Voting News and Updates
This week Secure Families Initiative delivered our Community Letter, signed by hundreds of supporters, to all Chief Election Officers around the nation to urge public, unequivocal support of our community’s right to access the ballot box. Thank you for your support in amplifying our voices.
1. Pennsylvania: GOP Lawsuit that Threatened Overseas Military Votes in Pennsylvania Is Thrown Out by Judge (Military.com; Oct 29, 2024). “This ruling and others like it have confirmed in the court of law what we already knew to be true on the ground — that our elections are safe and secure, and that military and overseas ballots deserve protection,” Sarah Streyder, executive director of Secure Families Initiative, said in an emailed statement. “To quote a military spouse in our membership: ‘If you want a strong military, you must provide a strong democracy for them to participate in as they defend it.'”
2. Alabama: A federal judge has ordered Alabama to stop trying to purge voters before Election Day (NPR; Oct 16, 2024). A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked Alabama’s voter removal program in one of the major legal fights over voter purges in Republican-led states ahead of this fall’s Election Day.
3. Virginia: Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge individuals from voter rolls (NPR; Oct 30, 2024). On Wednesday, the Supreme Court sided with Virginia, leaving the purged voters off the rolls and allowing the purge to continue. The significance of the ruling is more a matter of the signal it sends than how the court’s action will affect the election in Virginia, where polls show Vice President Harris well ahead of former President Trump. The signal it sends is that if a majority of the justices had an appetite for election appeals like this one, they almost certainly will have an appetite for election appeals from more contentious states in the coming days and weeks.
4. Arizona: 1.2 Million Arizona voter registrations challenged by Florida group in new lawsuit (Arizona Capitol Times; Oct 31, 2024). A Florida-based organization contends there are 1.2 million ineligible people on Arizona voter registration rolls. […] Little is known about Citizen AG [who filed the lawsuit].
5. Don’t Let Military and Overseas Voters Become the Next Targets for Voter Suppression (Just Security; Oct 25, 2024). Now, however, a partisan group seeking to undermine faith in U.S. elections and sow mistrust in democracy has perversely enlisted UOCAVA in an effort to limit military and civilian overseas citizens’ ability to vote. It does so by asking a court in Pennsylvania to ignore a crucial piece of the law and effectively disenfranchise thousands of U.S. citizens – some of our greatest patriots among them.
6. Foreign Threats to the US Election Are on the Rise, and Officials Are Moving Faster to Expose Them (Military.com; Oct 27, 2024). A presidential candidate’s phone is hacked. A fake video falsely shows ballots burned in Pennsylvania. National security officials warn that U.S. adversaries may incite violent protests after Election Day. These developments — all revealed in the past week — show how Russia, China and Iran have increased the pace of efforts to meddle in American politics ahead of next month’s election, just as intelligence officials and security analysts had predicted.
7. Republicans Spent Years Slamming ‘Woke’ Military Policies. The Election Could Give Them the Chance to Act (Military.com; Oct 25, 2024). Military policies related to transgender service members, abortion and diversity could all be on the chopping block if Republicans take control of Congress and the White House in next month’s election.
8. Organizing Director Brandi Jones joined the wonderful Gather at Grey to talk all about civics and voting by mail. Give it a listen (Spotify link)!
Other News Around the World
1. New wave of mass killings in Sudan alarms UN (BBC News; Oct 27, 2024). A senior UN official in Sudan says she is deeply troubled by reports of “atrocious crimes” in the central Gezira state, including the mass killing of civilians by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
2. PCS safety and why it matters (WeAreTheMighty.com; Oct 24, 2024). As we all know, military families have very little say when it comes to our orders and where we go next and this causes our underrepresented military families to struggle. Military families of color have experienced hatred, racism, discrimination and other hardships due to PCSing to areas where they are not welcomed. It does not matter whether they serve and wear the uniform proudly, they will be met with concerning situations, hostility and tense circumstances, from facing racism within their housing communities, to sharing discrimination stories happening to their children at local schools. Learn more about SFI’s Campaign for PCS Safety.
3. And for something seasonal and light-hearted: 9 Spooky Military Ghost Stories, as Told by Service Members and Veterans (Military.com; Oct 24, 2024). Military.com readers share their spookiest military ghost stories. Do you have any military or base-related ghost stories?